Doing what I love

"I will have completed my job volunteering when I can sit in the audience and see a student I mentored receive this award." This is what I would have said given a chance to think about it.

There is no point in serving others if you can't transfer that heart for service to someone else. As a Christ follower that heart has been changed by the Spirit of God and that's what I want to impart to others.

There is no way I could have received this award without the church of Courtland Avenue Friends allowing me to work with Bridges Outreach and especially the discernment that the leadership of Courtland Avenue had to keep me connected with them. I am thankful for the honor but it certainly reflects the faith of those around me especially my wife Allison who is currently singing to one of the students we minister to.

Filling in for the Pope

It was hard for me to imagine that stuff that old could still be standing. However, it was awesome to think about those who have gone before me in the Christian faith.

I had hoped to keep things updated as we went along on our trip however, internet access was was hard to come by over there. So I will just mention a few highlights here from my trip to Italy.

Venice: The streets really are that narrow! It is not just pictures that make them look narrow but some of the streets would have trouble with three people walking side by side. No cars are allowed on most of the islands making feet and water the most prevalent means of transport. They have all kinds of shops there and everything must be carted to the stores by hand. That would certainly get old.

Pisa: I walked along next to a tall, dingy brick wall, probably 50-60 feet high. Turning to enter through the expansive archway startled me with white shining buildings in a sea of grass. Three main buildings stand gloriously, white, a baptismal building, a cathedral, and the Leaning Tower all covered in perfect marble. A sight to behold. And to think all of Rome used to be covered in this stuff and not just the brick bones of once ornate homes, temples, and government offices.

Rome: Above a large field roughly 6 football fields long by 1 wide we ordered our sandwiches and soda and noticed a drum beat coming from the field below. The old Circus Maximus situated below what's left of Cesar Augustus house came alive again. Roman Centurions led their companies of soldiers down the grassy field once again, honoring the day Rome was born.

Small Group Depth

I have been very blessed in the past few weeks through exploring the depths of my faith with my fellow Purple Book sojourners.


There certainly isn't one among us that has everything figured out however, through fear and trembling we are working out our salvation. We are grappling with what it meant for the disciples to be of one heart and one mind from Acts 4:32. I really think this group is finding itself in the midst of this due to forging Christian community. It is almost a byproduct of taking the risk of trusting one another with our own transparency especially when it comes to sharing where we are with our faith. How beautiful this time is.

Less Spirituality: Post Christian and Post Spiritual

I went to Exalt - a worship service on Tuesday evening at IWU. Probably 40 attended while outside our area many sat chatting at the McConn Coffee Company. I guess I was disappointed that more didn't attend on a campus of thousands. Maybe the Fox News article was right, that people are just less spiritual today. Do we desire to connect less with our creator than ever before? How do we build up that desire? Worship for worship's sake isn't worth much but is it at least slightly better than chatting with others for the sake of chatting with others? Do our spiritual lives actually come in first on our list of priorities? Do we spend nearly enough time on our spiritual lives?

I know, as a pastor these things are always in the front of my mind making me hyper aware of them and I maybe should be more sympathetic to those who weren't at Exalt but as a pastor it is my job to help people think about these things. Oh, and it's my blog.

Love to hear your thoughts!

Pray for pastor Joe

I will be on a professional retreat March 10-14. I covet your prayers as I ask for God's leading for Courtland in the next year.

Each year I spend one week communing with God about what He has in store for our congregation. I simply go in telling God we are available and asking how we may be used. From there I listen for a theme for the year and out of that try to loosely schedule what needs to be communicated to our church throughout the next year. I also do the same thing for RISE the student ministry. I also look at what ministry opportunities God may be calling both groups to. And then spend time praying for both groups.

Last year I fasted from all technology and went to Quaker Haven for three days and Quaker Hill for two. Both places were very, very quiet and rest-filled. I had the opportunity to learn how to use pencil and paper again. This year I am going to try something different. I am going to hide out in the libraries of a couple of our somewhat-local Christian college campuses and use technology to help plan for the next year. I will probably attend some of their chapel services as well. I am looking forward to what God will be speaking during this week. Your prayers will make it even more exciting.

A new era of information

In an effort to make the information in our heads as accessible as possible, we want to start posting stuff on the Internet. Hopefully some of it will be amusing, inspiring, and clever but I am sure there will also be posts that are boring, sad, and bland. We do want to honor Christ in all we talk about so we will try to keep that in mind when we post.

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to read this.